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Europe
Region on Planet Earth Europe is, by convention, one of Earth's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally divided from Asia by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting the Black and Aegean Seas. Europe is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and the Black Sea and connected waterways to the southeast. Yet the borders of Europe—a concept dating back to classical antiquity—are somewhat arbitrary, as the primarily physiographic term "continent" can incorporate cultural and political elements. Europe is the world's second-smallest continent by surface area, covering about 10,180,000 square kilometres (3,930,000 sq. mi) or 2% of the Earth's surface and about 6.8% of its land area. Of Europe's approximately 50 countries, Russia is by far the largest by both area and population2, taking up 40% of the continent (although the country has territory in both Europe and Asia), while Vatican City is the smallest. Europe is the third-most populous continent after Asia and Africa, with a population of 733-739 million or about 11% of the world's population. The most commonly used currency is the euro. Europe, in particular Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome, is the birthplace of Western culture. It played a predominant role in global affairs from the 15th century onwards, especially after the beginning of colonialism. Between the 16th and 20th centuries, European nations controlled at various times the Americas, most of Africa, Oceania, and large portions of Asia. The Industrial Revolution, which began in Great Britain around the end of the 18th century, gave rise to radical economic, cultural, and social change in Western Europe, and eventually the wider world. Demographic growth meant that, by 1900, Europe's share of the world's population was 25%. All of Earth's World Wars were largely focused upon Europe, greatly contributing to a decline in Western European dominance in world affairs by the mid-20th century as the United States and Soviet Union took prominence. During the Cold War, Europe was divided along the Iron Curtain between NATO in the west and the Warsaw Pact in the east. European integration led to the formation of the Council of Europe and the European Union in Western Europe, both of which have been expanding eastward since the revolutions of 1989 and the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991. The European Union grew influence over its member countries. Many European countries are members of the Schengen Area, which abolishes border and immigration controls among its members. During the outbreak of WWIII, Europe and Asia were the main regions were fighting took place. Paris, Istanbul, Berlin and Moscow were completely destroyed After the Ascent and the formation of the World government, Europe delegates formed the so called Old World bloc and usually banded together in voting and decisions. The first colonists to destinations beyond the Sol Systems came from Europe. The very first colonists left from Germany long before the official exodus. Today Europe is just a region of Earth. But the old country divisions are still upheld by national regions, and the various local customs are upheld. Most of the local languages only survived as spoken languages on the respective colonies. (As with most of the Earth languages) 1 1 While Italian only survived on Italian Colonies and in songs. Latin is again spoken and understood by many, as it is still the 2nd official language of Pan Saran. Similar reasons for the revival of ancient Egyptian as it too was the official language of the Sarans (and is still spoken as language of state) 2 European is the collective term for a citizen of Europe or the region's culture. Category:Encyclopedia Galactica Category:Real World Articles Category:Phrases and Terms